He was a Mason, a Sergeant in WWII, a member
of the Episcopalian church, smoked cigarettes.
Education: Grapeland High School Grapeland TX.
Died of heart failure age 53

Spouse: Helen Anna Kopecky

Birth Date: June 2, 1925
Death date & Burial Place: will be beside Arthur at Refuge
Cemetery
Birth Place: home in Jordanton TX in Atascosa Co. TX. near
San Antonio
Marriage Date & Place: August 25,1945
Spouse Father: Rudolph Kopecky
Spouse Mother: Elizabeth Anna Kodytek
Occupation: Homemaker, seamstress. She worked for 10 years
for Pasadena Independent School District as a food service
worker. She worked from age 50 on as a seamstress sewing wet
suits for several years and draperies for several years. Helen
lived at 25131 Broughton Spring TX the home she and Arthur Ray
had built in 1970. She had breast cancer at about age 35 and a
second time at about age 45 and a third time at age 80 and
survived.
Education: Stephen F. Austin H.S. in Houston TX, Helen was
raised in East Bernard TX.

Arthur Ray lived only 2 years in Jayton. The family moved back
to Grapeland, TX. His father was a farmer. He played football at
Grapeland High. He moved to Houston and worked for Folgers
coffee and played on the company baseball team. He joined the
Air Force in World Ware II and was trained as an aircraft
mechanic. We was promoted to rank of Sergeant but the war was
over before he saw any overseas action. From letters he sent
home to his mother and she kept we know on May 5, 1943 he was
stationed at the Amarillo Texas air force base and sent a
mothers day card.

He met Helen Kopecky when they lived on the same street in east
Houston. She was from East Bernard Texas. Her family had come
from Checkslovicia. They were married in 1945. He moved to
Galveston and worked as an aircraft mechanic at Sholes field. He
worked at Cameron Iron Works helping build Interstate 45, the
gulf freeway, near Texas City Texas. He worked for the Air
Research subsidiary of the Garrett Corporation as an aircraft
inspector. He was taught to inspect the Lear jet aircraft and
helicopters. He was licensed to fly aircraft for mechanical
testing. He liked to play cards, hunting and fishing. He was
5'9", wt. 135 lbs. He had black hair all of his life but was
balding with a high forehead. He was active in the Episcopal
Church (St Barnabas) in South Houston TX., and Holy Comforter in
Spring TX. He served several years on the vestry at St Barnabas
and was the senior warden one year. He designed and built
go-carts for his grand children.

Arthur Ray loved Grapeland and often returned with his family
for visits. He died suddenly of heart failure while running
trotlines for catfish on Lake Houston in August 1975. His body
was flown by airplane from Houston to Palestine and then taken
by hearse to Grapeland and then the next day the funeral was
held at the cemetery grounds of Refuge in Houston County Texas.